The Beat Movement described an important time in the 1950s when prominent American writers got together and established a style of writing that influenced the Western Culture. On (p11) Jack Kerouac writes, "The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing but burn, burn, burn like fabulous roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!" What do you think this means, take into consideration that this text was written during the 1950s when most of the United States was considered "conservative."
2 comments:
From what I learned from U.S. history class, the Beat Movement challenged the limits of free expression. That the Beat writers produced work that was controversial for its advocacy of non conformity and for its non conforming style. Because of the Beat Generation, language and topics such as drug use, sexuality and odd behaviors, pushed the boundaries of acceptability in the conformist 1950’s.
The quote it self pretty much sums up what the Beat writers is trying to accomplish, to break away from the social norm and to achieve free self expression. I love this piece of quote, because it reminds me of myself and my friends after partying and being up too late and deciding to go get coffee instead of going home to sleep.
I like the layout of your blog. It has the vibrant color glaring which seems to represent the rebellious Beat Movement. On the other hand, you should provide a bit more context of the book. This way I’d have an idea of what is going on.
Good introductory post; now I want to see a response to the information you are uncovering. What strikes you as interesting or odd? What drew you to the topic?
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